Aussies seeded for Australian Open home slam

SAM Stosur (20) and Casey Dellacqua (29) are the only Aussies seeded at the Australian Open, guaranteeing them matches against lower-ranked opponents in the first round.

It will be the first time Dellacqua has been seeded at her home grand slam. The 29-year-old is the top seed at this week's Hobart International where she was due to play Italy's Karin Knapp in a rain-interrupted second round yesterday.

The 32 top-ranked women have all nominated for the opening grand slam of the year at Melbourne Park, with World No.1 Serena Williams installed as the top seed, ahead of Maria Sharapova and Simona Halep.

Two of the top 20 men's players - world No.9 Marin Cilic and No.12 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga - will miss the tournament through injury.

Cilic, who won last year's US Open, has a right shoulder problem, while Tsonga has a forearm strain. World No.1 and four-time champion Novak Djokovic is the men's top seed, ahead of fan favourite Roger Federer, former world No.1 Rafael Nadal and defending champion Stan Wawrinka.